Reaching for the Sky
by EraKnight
Summary: Changes occur gradually, almost like the movement of clouds across the sky. Six people, full of love and hope will take the world by storm and change it little by little. One has given up. One is confused. One's just started. Another is determined. The next is free. And the last is cursed. All are reaching for the sky.
1. Courage

**A/N: Yes, I have randomly decided to rewrite RftS. There were just a lot of things bugging me, either that I screwed up or that I wanted to add except that I had gotten past that part. Besides that, I had a terrible fear that my characters were entering the realms of the unrealistic. This will be sporadically updated. I've got quite a bit prewritten but I need to revise and edit it, so please be patient with me. Please review! :)**

 **Also, if you can, check out Narufan0001's fanfic with these OCs. She hasn't updated in a bit (or an eternity, depending on your view )= ) but it's really funny, what's she's got out at least.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, only the plot of this fanfiction and my OC, Caitlin.**

 **Caitlin's POV**

 **Chapter 1: Courage**

 _"_ _I'm here because I want to be."_

 _~Hyuuga Hinata~_

Sunlight filtered through the trees above the blonde boy, and for the split second that his head was in the spot, his hair turned gold. Then, as the swing swung him away from the spot, his hair turned back to blonde. This continued for a long time as the girl just stared at him, too many thoughts contained in her head.

The matriarch of the orphanage, Yuki, had told her to stay away from the boy, yet he seemed normal enough. When he had been kicked out, she had called him a demon. He didn't look like a demon though. Caitlin had read enough books about such creatures when she had heard the whispers of the villagers. None of the books she had ever read had mentioned that defending yourself from schoolyard bullies was enough to get yourself kicked out of an orphanage, though she had read many horror stories about orphanages. It was enough to consider asking the Hokage to let her have her own apartment, but she didn't have the courage.

It seemed to her that she never had courage. She had seen many other children that looked like they needed a friend but she didn't have the courage to go up to them and ask them to play. It was just like she didn't have the courage to talk to the blonde boy. She knew Yuki wouldn't approve, and that it would detach her from the other children at the Academy. At least, it would do it to most. She had seen how Hinata was infatuated with him and how young and impressionable Kiba imitated him. She doubted Shikamaru would care, as long as one of them was good at shoji. Chouji appeared shy himself, and would probably welcome a couple of new friends. She wasn't too sure about Shino, and while she knew Ino would defend her and Naruto from Ami and other bullies, the other girl was too afraid of the repercussions of befriending them. The rest of the student weren't worth mentioning, unless you counted Sasuke. He had a rivalry with Naruto that seemed almost like a strange friendship.

Caitlin wanted to have courage and to have friends. While her nature was very reclusive and she already was good friends with Tenten, who lived at the orphanage with her and knew how she wanted to move out, she needed to know those kids just in case she ended up on a team with them. She would have to depend on her team, and even trust them with her life. She'd prefer them to actually be someone she felt that she could trust since at the moment, she didn't know any of them. She may be able to read body language well and tell what they were like by listening to them, it didn't mean that she would trust any of them, even sweet Hinata or reliable Chouji.

She waited until almost the end of their lunch period before she finally made her decision. Creeping through the shadows, she stopped behind the swing set, pausing before she took a deep breath, gathering her courage the way she gathered air into her lungs. Then she stepped out of the shadows, and standing behind the boy, pushed the swing forward, helping him in his flight.

Startled, he turned around, his blue eyes widened to an almost ludicrous size. She continued pushing him, not saying a word but feeling her cheeks turn red with embarrassment as he continued to stare at her. Just when she was beginning to believe that maybe his exile had been self-imposed, the boy smiled, and it lit up his face, changing it pleasantly and differently from the scowl he had worn before.

"Hi…," Caitlin murmured, meeting his eyes and trying not to let her courage falter.

The boy blinked, snapping out of his daze of shock and happiness as he stopped the swing and slid out of the seat. "I'm Naruto," he replied, putting his hands in his pockets when he realized that he had been fiddling with them nervously. He was gazing at her suspiciously, and Caitlin felt herself shrink away from the look.

"My name's Caitlin," the girl answered, bowing quickly as she remembered the manners taught to her by Yuki. "Nice to meet you."

"Right back acha," Naruto replied, giving her a tiny smile.

When Caitlin realized that they were going to keep on standing there staring at each other until she said or did something, she quietly suggested, "Do you want to swing? I could push you and then we can switch."

His eyes lit up again, this time even brighter. "Yeah, dattebayo! That'd be awesome!"

x~x~x

A month later, Caitlin was running across the village, trying to avoid bumping into people.

As she crashed into someone, she shouted out an apology as she heard angry shouts behind her. Normally, she would stop, but she was already annoyed and angry herself.

Tenten was being adopted. While it wasn't a bad thing, she knew that now there would be no one to make an excuse for her while she hung out with Naruto. And if Yuki found out, she would make her quit the Academy, and then she would never become a ninja.

She made it to the building the Hokage's office was located in, but stopped just short of entering.

 _I can't do this. I don't have a plan. How will I even tell the Hokage what I want? I mean, even if I can get out of the orphanage, this was my only chance at being adopted. I won't ever have a family if I leave and get an apartment._

 _But if I don't get an apartment, I won't be able to hang out with Naruto, or be a ninja._

 _What do I do?_

x~x~x

"Grr! It can't be that hard to figure out where he lives," Caitlin complained to no one as she went up to an apartment door to ask about Naruto. Knocking, she waited for someone to answer.

And waited.

And waited.

 _There's someone in there. I can hear them moving around!_

Finally the door opened and Caitlin blankly stared at the man that stood there.

"I waited. For an hour. Only to have a crazy old man open the door!" Caitlin whispered under her breath, nearing tears. _I've been looking for Naruto for hours! And this is what I find!_

"Hey!" the man protested. "I'm not old! I'll have you know I'm 19 year old!"

Caitlin once again stared at him blankly, tears disappearing as incredulity filled her expression. "A-huh. Keep telling yourself that."

"I'm not old! I'm nineteen! Nineteen!" he snapped, his one uncovered eye twitching.

"Okay, Jiji," the blonde girl said, fiddling with her fingers as she became nervous. "D-do you have any idea where a person by the name of Naruto lives?"

"Yeah. Why?" the silver haired man demanded after he sighed. Caitlin fidgeted as she stared at him, wondering why he was asking.

"He's my friend," Caitlin replied. "A-and I wanted him to… to come with me to talk to the Hokage."

"What do you want to talk to the Hokage about?"

"I-I want to get my own apartment… because I don't want to stay at the orphanage anymore…" she hesitantly replied.

"Well, I suppose I can take you there then," he said as he closed the door and walked around her and out into the street. She followed, staring at him curiously. She suspect he was a ninja by the way he closed his face off, but the lazy slouch made her think he was harmless. He had to be good then. Only a really good ninja could make someone think he was harmless like that and be confident enough of his ability to have such posture.

"How do you know Naruto?" the girl questioned. The man gave no reaction but a shrug.

Caitlin pouted. "Why won't you tell me?!"

He still didn't answer.

"Please!"

She finally gave up after five minutes and moved on to another question, since he didn't want to answer the one.

"What's your name?" Caitlin asked at they stopped at a door.

The man stared at her and then answered, "Maito Gai."

Caitlin's brow furrowed. "You're not-," She was interrupted by the man disappearing in a cloud of smoke. _–Maito Gai. I should know since he's one of my idols._

Sighing, she simply turned to the door and knocked on it. Soon enough, the blonde boy opened it, blinking sleepily. He jolted when he realized it was his new friend.

"Caitlin!" he yelped as she stepped inside. He frantically began picking up ramen cartons from off the table and throwing them away.

"Eto... It's fine Naruto," Caitlin murmured, looking slightly disturbed at the energetic boy.

"Er… Are you sure?" Naruto asked, pausing in his work.

"Yeah, I'm sure," the girl replied, trying not to laugh at his worry. "Um, there was something that I wanted to ask you…"

Naruto set down the noodles cup down on the table. "What is it?"

Caitlin hesitated, and then asked in one huge rush, "Could you help me get my own apartment?"

Naruto blinked as he tried to determine what she had said, and finally gaped at her, understanding. "Yeah, it's fine with me. Heck, you can even stay her while we look."

"Awesome," Caitlin said. "Now, since I'm going to temporarily live here, I'm going to clean!" she declared as she went to the overflowing sink and moved some of the dishes to wash. "I'll wash if you dry," Caitlin offered.

"Sure, dattebayo!" Naruto shouted as he rushed to the cabinets to find a towel to dry the dishes.

"Thanks!"

 **Question: What's the weirdest pet you've had?**

 **My answer: An opossum named Tink. My dad hated (AKA was terrified of) the critter. (By the way, does anyone know if it should be an opossum or a opossum? Word thinks it's an, but I know Word's been wrong before, so…) Also, my family had a vole named JoJo. He was adorable, but loved my sister more than any of us. Every time someone took him away from her, he would start trying to scratch them.**


	2. Reincarnation

**A/N: The timeline for Megan is weird, so hers will be off by, um, a lot until it begins to align.**

 **Hope you enjoy this chapter. Please review! :)**

 **Disclaimer: Kishimoto owns Naruto, not me. I only own the plot to this fanfiction, and Megan belongs to nightheart777.**

 **Megan's POV**

 **Chapter 2: Reincarnation**

 _"_ _This is the greatest creation from my soul! It will make you lose track of time, forget to breathe, and even forget who you are!_ _"_

 _~Jiraiya~_

Megan screamed as she entered the world. Comforting darkness and something else had been her companion for what seemed like years, and now all of it was replaced by pain. The light hurt her eyes and her other companion, the one without name, had been ripped away from her without warning.

She paused in her wailing as a strange revelation crossed her mind. Her voice was much more childish than it was supposed to be. Besides that, she knew that there was something she had forgotten.

Then, even more pain filled her being. It was the worst she had ever felt. Worse than even getting ear tubes. Worse than the car wreck-

That was what she had forgotten! So it seemed she really had been reborn, since she was pretty sure it was impossible to save a person when they had a pole go through their chest and then one through their brain.

Soon the pain stopped and she felt different, but she couldn't figure out for the life of her what it was. At least she could think clearly, and she was taking full advantage of that.

 _If I've been rein- oh, what's the word? Reincarcirated? Reingarnated? Rein-? Oh, fuck it. I don't know shit about it anyways. Caitlin would know, but I don't. If I find her I'll ask. Or I could ask Gwenie-the-Poo. She might know. Of course, Momma and Daddy would know too…_

 **At this point, I suspect nearly everyone knows more about it than you.**

If Megan could have, she would have started cursing aloud. As it was, her thoughts were very vulgar and much along the lines and what she would have been saying if she could.

 _What the fuck! Who the hell said that? I'm pretty sure a baby's hearing isn't fully developed enough to decipher words!_

 **Your mind is very strange. So is your old world. It's actually quite funny though that you can understand me, since I know I am not speaking English.**

 _Then what the hell are you speaking?_

 **Japanese, of course. You appear to be in your favorite manga and anime series, Naruto. I suppose I should introduce myself. Hello, I'm the Juubi.**

 _What?_

 **Yes, now shush so I can concentrate. I'm going to give you your old body back, along with a new power. And the ability to understand Japanese, since otherwise I would have to teach you, and I refuse to.**

 _I don't want my old body back! I sort of had mortal wounds, remember?_

 **And I'll heal you. I'm afraid that you'll have scars because of how deep they were and the fact that your body won't be used to this world, and the transition to this one will make it worse, but you'll survive.**

 _I don't want scars! And I want both of my eyes and-_

Megan broke off her mind-ranting as a sudden feeling of detachment came over her. For a split second she saw her baby body as though she were hovering over it and then she was in a different body, one that was right beside her baby form. Her baby form wasn't breathing, and glazed eyes met her own as the ex-Jinchuuriki of the Juubi- her mother in this world- stared at her in horror. Even as she stared, the life slowly drained from her eyes.

 _She must have been part Uzumaki…_

 **No, even better. She was an Otsutsuki. No other could contain me.**

 _What the hell? Aren't they like all on the moon at the moment or something?_

 **Not all. You appear to have fallen into what seems to be an alternate universe. I don't know if they are on the moon. Some are obviously on Earth, since you are one.**

 _Aren't you supposed to be sealed into the moon yourself or something along those lines? And does that mean that you're the only biju?_

 **Yes, I suppose I was. But the Sage of the Six Paths, for all of his power, could not divide all of my own power before he died. I suppose there were supposed to be more biju, but he only managed to get to nine. He had to rest in between each, and before he could create a tenth biju, he realized that he was truly on his deathbed and sealed the rest of me into his only daughter, knowing that she would remain neutral to her brothers' conflicts. So since then, I have been sealed into her descendants.**

 _Isn't it sort of ironic that it was the tenth biju he was going to create and you're the ten tails?_

 **Of course it's slightly ironic. It's fate.**

 _You know, you're sounding creepily like a certain Hyuuga…_

 **Shut up!**

Megan stood up shakily as her new 'buddy' quieted, bile rising up her throat. She wasn't wearing any clothes, but she had been just a baby a second ago. She also suspected that someone would be arriving soon since she imagined the woman had told someone to come and get her after a time.

 _Okay, so clothes first. Should I steal the woman's and make them think someone has stolen the Juubi or should I run around naked until I can find clothes from another source?_

 **Normally, I would suggest running around naked so there was no suspicion. Since it is raining, and humans are very fragile creature, I would suggest getting clothes from the woman and hoping that we aren't tracked down later. The woman wasn't a ninja, but her companions were. And trust me, they will know that something is up.**

Megan quickly undressed the woman and put the kimono on, having more than a little trouble with the obi. Finally she just shook her head and tied it in the front, not caring how weird she looked. As she was getting dressed, a thought struck her. And a very disturbing thought at that.

 _Aren't you supposed to be a crazy and unthinking creature?_

 **No, I am not. I am very thinking, but I was being controlled by Obito in your memories. I hate Uchihas…**

 _Now you're sounding suspiciously like Kurama…_

 **Shut up!**

 _Never!_

Megan walked into the forest surrounding her, wondering where the others would be. _They could practically be anywhere! And they're probably babies!_

 **We don't know that. From one of your memories, your father talked with your sister about how time was impossible to measure because it passes different for everyone. So they could be babies, or they could be fully grown. Besides that, they won't remember anything.**

 _What? Why won't they remember anything?_

 **I unblocked your memories. Unless they find some other way, they won't remember anything.**

Megan frowned as she thought about it. _What or who could unlock their memories?_

 **Yamanaka mind techniques could. Sharigan. Maybe even life threatening situations. Something that deeply reminded them of something in their memories.**

Megan sighed and continued running. _Damn. Ninja genes are awesome. I normally would be out of breath by now._

 **You're unconsciously putting chakra into everything you do. You need to stop, since you might overload yourself with it because you're not used to it. It's also why you still feel sick to your stomach.**

 _Uh…Oops?_

 **Just reach inside of you, find what feels like a spark, and cut it off from flowing so fast into your body. Slow it down.**

 _Okay, gotcha!_

Megan felt for the spark, deciding to think of it somewhere near her heart, since she thought if she remembered correctly it was near there. She didn't find a spark. She found a raging fire.

 _Damn, I'd forgotten I was a Jinchuuriki. Thank goodness I didn't want to be a medic or use too much genjutsu._

She felt the chakra flowing through her body. It was going fast and she wasn't entirely sure how to slow it down, but she thought about it slowing down. It wasn't working. Frustrated, she muttered aloud, "Slow down."

It slowed down, but the amount it slowed down by was barely noticeable. _Slow down. Slow down! SLOW DOWN!_

The chakra slowed down until the flow seemed natural, and Megan decided that it was fine. She started running again, and continued until she found a break through the trees and a village.

She decided to stay in the forest since she hadn't found any money on her. Besides, she needed to start her ninja training.

 _I'm probably gonna be here for a while…_

 **Question: What's your favorite book?**

 **My answer: Maybe Uglies. I really loved that series.**


	3. Friendship

**A/N: This isn't my best chapter, and I couldn't seem to make it come out right, but never the less, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Please review! :)**

 **Disclaimer: I only own the plot to this fanfiction, Kishimoto owns Naruto, and Gwen is owned by Narufan0001.**

 **Gwen's POV**

 **Chapter 3: Friendship**

 _"_ _Know this, where there is light in this world, there is also shadow._ _"_

 _~Uchiha Madara~_

The brunette girl whistled as she followed her brother to school. Her brother continued on as though his sister wasn't following him, though the red tint to his cheeks hinted to his slight embarrassment. His sister would laugh at him if she saw it, but luckily for him, she was behind him.

He finally sighed and turned to her. "Imouto, you do realize that you're not old enough to go to the Academy, un?"

The girl pouted but nodded. "Yeah, I know. I thought that maybe I could train in their training grounds, though."

The blonde brother rolled his eyes but picked her up and put her on his shoulders. They were quiet after that, but it was comfortable. The small girl played with his hair until he set her down in the training grounds next to the Academy. She smiled and waved as he disappeared inside the building.

She plopped to the ground, undoing the velcro to open the bags attached to her waist. She took two handful of clay from the bag and then concentrated on molding it correctly. She could mold it well, but it took so much time that if she didn't improve it, she wouldn't be able to fight with it. Her clay was practically her only weapon, along with explosion tags, which her brother called weak duplicates of their clay. She had realized that they were faster to use since you didn't have to make them. She always kept premade clay explosives on her though, but they weren't enough and were still slow since she had to unseal them from a scroll.

"How are you doing with the explosions, Gwen?"

The bluish-green eyed girl turned and grinned. "Not too good, but not too bad either."

"You're getting better though, aren't you?" asked the masked ANBU member.

"Yeah, but it's really slow going," Gwen answered, wrinkling her nose.

"When are you going to tell your brother that you can use the clay?"

She shrugged. "When are you going to tell Tsuchikage-sama that I can use the clay?"

The ANBU sighed and shrugged. "I'd prefer you to not be thought of as a weapon and that's what would happen if I did tell him. For now, I'll tell him you're still struggling with it."

"Thank you."

He tilted his head, reminding her much of the raccoon dog his mask depicted. "What for?"

She smiled. "For being my friend."

x~x~x

Gwen followed Deidara home, humming a tune and skipping. Hanging out with the ANBU made her calm- or at least, calmer.

"Imouto, what in the world do you do for all of that time?" Deidara asked suddenly, the look on his face indicating he had been wondering for some time.

She paused in the song, her thoughts racing. There were a million lies she could think to tell him, but she doubted that they would seem believable. She couldn't lie to save her life, and she knew it.

"I was training for some of it and I also talked to ANBU-san when I got tired," she answered after a long pause.

"ANBU-san?" questioned her brother, frowning.

"Yeah! He wears a raccoon dog mask!"

Deidara scowled. "A raccoon dog mask, un? He's one of the Tsuchikage's personal guards then. How often does he show up to the training grounds, un?"

Gwen started to scowl, realizing that her brother didn't approve of her friend, just like all of the other friends she had tried to make. Most of them had been chunin or jounin or even ANBU, since genin, Academy students, and civilians were scared of her hands.

"Every day, un!" she snapped.

Her brother's scowl grew along with his anger. "That Tsuchikage is trying to trick us again, un! All he wants are the secrets of our Kekkei Genkei! Tou-san and Kaa-chan died to protect them, un, and now he thinks that he's somehow gonna pry it from us! That asshole, un!"

"ANBU-san's not like that, un!" Gwen snapped, stomping beside her brother. "He's not trying to get the secrets of our Kekkei Genkei from us, un!"

"How would you know he's not trying to do that, un?! You couldn't tell last time, un!"

"Shut up, un!" Gwen snapped, rushing ahead towards their home.

"Don't walk away from me!" Deidara snarled, catching up to her.

"You don't know everything, Dei-nii! So stop acting all high and mighty, un!"

Her brother snarled cuss words under his breath as they entered their house and began to prepare for the rest of the anger filled day ahead of them.

x~x~x

Gwen was forbidden from leaving the house the next day, though that didn't stop her. She decided not to go to her usual spot and walked around the village, finally finding her favorite tea shop.

It was a quaint little shop on the outskirts of the village, its blue color faded and dusty from the years. Yellow curtains stood out in the windows, a splash of color in all of the brown buildings surrounding her.

She entered the shop, the bell ringing cheerily overhead as she scanned the room to see who was already there.

"Han!" She cheered happily as she rushed to the counter. She had known the slightly strange man since she was three, and he was the only friend Deidara approved of, most likely simply because the Tsuchikage wouldn't like him. That is, if the Tsuchikage knew he was here.

Han was a Jinchuuriki, and a very frightening looking one at that. He was ridiculously tall, and half of his face was covered by a white mask. He wore an apron though over his loose clothes, which sort of ruined the effect. He just sort of looked like a giant cook.

"Hello, Gwen. The usual?" he asked.

"Yep!" Gwen answered. "I need it to go though, since I want to train today."

"Ah, of course. It'll be a couple of minutes."

"'Course," Gwen stated, sitting down in her usual booth seat.

Gwen glanced out the window, watching people pass by as she waited for her food. There were many civilians, and only a couple of ninjas, most of them genin. Then, she noticed something strange. Three of what could be chunin or jounin walked by her window, and then entered the shop. Usually, ninjas didn't come to the quaint shop, much less three together.

Han was walking towards where she sat, a bag of dango and a cup of tea in hand, when one of the ninjas stepped in his way.

"You are under arrest by orders of the Tsuchikage!"

 **Question: Who do you think Gwen's ANBU friend is? If you read the first version of RftS, you might be able to get a better guess… (And yes, he is a real character. But it never stated if he was ever in Iwa's ANBU corps.)**


	4. Unanswered Questions

**A/N: Hello! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please review! :)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own the plot to this fanfiction. Bobby belongs to ANBU33.**

 **Bobby's POV**

 **Chapter 4: Unanswered Questions**

 _"_ _I have closed my eyes long ago..."_

 _~Uchiha Sasuke~_

Bobby cracked open his eyes, seeing only darkness. Of course, there was a blindfold over his eyes, so that didn't mean much. There was always a blindfold over his eyes.

He push a little bit of chakra into his eyes, not much, but enough to get a glimpse of his surroundings. It appeared that once again, the idiots at his school had beat him up and tried to look under his blindfold. His mother had already prepared for this day, and had put a seal on it that was used in conjunction with a genjutsu to make it appear that his eyes had been horribly scarred. Not only that, but if someone other than him or his mother lifted his blindfold, they would get a nasty shock, which was why his bullies were all passed out around him.

He stood up gingerly as he turned off his Kekkei Genkei, noticing that he barely had any chakra left. He would have to walk around blind and hope for the best, it seemed. While he never had enough chakra to keep them on all day, usually he was at least home when he was unable to see.

His mother, while a loving woman, was very secretive. He only knew that his father had been a Hyuuga, but he knew nothing besides that. He didn't know if he was alive or dead, and he didn't even know his name.

He shook those thoughts out of his mind as he began walking slowly towards his home. He had used his eyes too much many times before, but still the sensation of walking around with memory alone guiding him was terrifying.

He made it home with the help of a drunk woman who took pity on him. She held his hand most of the way, strangely gentle despite her originally harsh words and bad beer breath. Another woman, who she called Shizune, followed her, exasperated.

"Thank you for getting me home, drunk lady!" Bobby said, since he had no idea what her name was. Leaving her sputtering with shock on the door step, he entered his house, taking off his shoes and placing them messily near the door.

His mother was in the kitchen, humming. She did that a lot. He suspected she knew sometimes that he didn't have enough chakra for his eyes, so she hummed so he could figure out where she was. He appreciated it, even though he didn't ever say that.

"I'm home," Bobby said, padding into the kitchen, touching the backs of the dining table chairs as he went. His mother easily noticed this, so her hug was slightly tighter than usual.

"What happened?" Akira asked, her frown unseen as she inspected his bruised face. There were scrapes along his arm from where he had fell to the ground, but all of this was easily fixed by her glowing hands.

"Can you teach me how to do that?" Bobby asked. He asked every time, but she had always refused. She didn't want him to have anything to do with chakra, even though at the age of four some kids were already in the Academy. In Sound, children did everything early.

"No!" the brunette woman snapped, unseen pain flashing in her eyes.

He nodded sullenly, and sat down to eat his supper.

x~x~x

Once he was older, on the weekends Bobby liked to explore. He met all sorts of people, and probably learned some things that his mother wouldn't want him to learn. Like ninjutsu.

"Huh, you're actually not half bad at this, kid," said the boy. He wore a bright blue yukata, and his brown hair fell into his eyes. He had never told Bobby his name, but most ninja didn't tell their names to him. Heck, most refused to teach him anything.

The boy was teaching him a simple wind ninjutsu. His teacher hadn't been surprised when the chakra paper was torn to pieces, since most ninja in Oto were wind natured. Though, he supposed in Konoha he would have been a rarity. Most people were fire natured there, with a smattering of earth natured people from the dying Senju clan.

The sixteen year old boy suddenly grew still, and frowned. "I have to go. It seems Konoha ninjas are here."

"Where are you from?" Bobby questioned.

Pain flared through the older boy's expression, and he quietly muttered, "Kirigakure."

The eight year old winced, feeling sympathy for him. No matter how horrible Oto was, Kiri was ten times that. There was darkness in all hidden villages, but Kiri didn't keep its darkness hidden, and embraced it even more than Oto. He could understand becoming a missing nin because of all of the blood line purges. Had he and his mother lived there, they'd probably already be dead. They would have quickly realized he had a bloodline limit and would have ripped him apart. They probably would have kept his eyes as well, and would have implanted them into some great ninja's head. Someone that they could control.

The Kiri ninja disappeared into the alleys of Oto, leaving Bobby to face the Konoha nins alone. He doubted there would be any sort of fight, and he imagine they'd accept a ninja running from the purges. They were known for their soft heartedness, after all.

Two ninjas appeared, one with almost blinding golden hair and another with dark hair and unmistakable eyes. Bobby hardly dared to breathe as the Hyuuga's eyes lingered on him before he stepped forward.

"There hasn't been a wayward Hyuuga in years. Tell me, who are your parents?"

Bobby stepped back, knowing what would happen. His mother had told him long ago what would happen if they got him. He had been careful never to stand out too much because of it, but it seemed like it didn't matter. Even though he had been as discreet as he could, the Hyuuga clan had found him.

The Hyuuga stepped forward, but was stopped by the blonde ninja. "Why don't we let him go? He's been on his own for this long."

"These are the secrets of Konoha. Besides, you have never had a clan or a family. What can you understand? You don't have anything to protect!" the man snarled, sidestepping the blonde man.

The blonde ninja's face changed strangely, and he murmured, "I have more to protect than you will ever understand." With that, he tossed a senbon at the Hyuuga, the needle barely grazing his arm.

"Damn it!" the Hyuuga snarled, clutching at the wound.

"A fast acting poison. It won't kill you, but it will cause you to forget what happened, and will knock you out too. You won't remember a bit of this."

Another blonde man appeared behind the Hyuuga, a clone of the other, who continued, "But let's speed up the process." He hit a pressure point on the man's neck, and the Hyuuga fell to the ground, knocked out. The clone grabbed the Hyuuga and disappeared without a sound.

"Who are you?" Bobby demanded, standing his ground. He was scared, but he wouldn't back down.

"You can call me Hemlox," the ninja answered he shoved a hand through his hair. "Damn it. I probably just signed my own death sentence there."

"How?"

Hemlox shrugged. "When the psych evaluation occurs, they'll find the suppressed memories of this incident and I'll be captured and executed. Probably tortured before that, to see if I'm a spy. And if I leave before that they'll send hunter-nin after me. There are other options, too, I suppose, but none of those will end well."

"Oh," Bobby muttered, absorbing the information. "Why would you do that for someone like me?"

The man chuckled tiredly. "It's a long story, and one that you probably wouldn't believe. I also don't particularly want to talk about it, either, so please don't ask."

"What are you going to do, then?" Bobby asked, hesitantly.

Another strange expression flickered across his face. "Look for several someones that I love greatly."

"Oh," Bobby murmured. "Who are you looking for then?"

"Didn't I just say that?"

"Yeah, but you didn't say a name or even where they're at."

"Well, maybe I don't know where they're at."

"Maybe? Why can't you give a straight answer?"

"Maybe because I like not giving straight answers."

"Give me a straight answer, damn it!"

"Nope."

 **Question: What's your favorite type of weather?**

 **My answer: I love the rain. It's just so peaceful to me. :)**


	5. Hospitals

**A/N: Hi! Well, here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy! Please review! :)**

 **Disclaimer: Naruto belongs to Kishimoto, while the plot and Lin-chan belong to me.**

 **Caitlin's POV**

 **Chapter 5: Hospitals**

 _"_ _The things that are most important aren't written in books. You have to learn them by experiencing them yourself._ _"_

 _~Haruno Sakura~_

Sitting at the kitchen table (or living room table, since the rooms weren't really separated) and doing homework, the girl jolted when a knock came at the door. Walking across the wooden floor and trying to be silent, she opened the door, wondering who it was. Naruto never knocked, even when he knew she was in. She was already wondering where he was, and had been putting off her homework until he arrived, victorious from whatever prank he had just pulled. He usually tried not to pull pranks when it was a Wednesday, since they did their homework together that day.

A dark haired teenager stood at the door, strange stress marks coming down from his eyes. His resemblance to Sasuke was astounding, and slightly alarming. The Uchihas ran the police force, and had never showed up before while she was waiting for Naruto. Sometimes frustrated ANBU members did, but never police.

Sighing, Caitlin said, "Whatever he did, Naruto's not here, and I have no clue where he is. Most of his pranks on Wednesdays aren't planned for, and even if they were, he doesn't tell me because he knows that I would tell on him."

"Uzumaki-san is in the hospital."

Not comprehending, Caitlin asked, "Why is he pulling a prank at the hospital? That's dangerous!"

Patient, the boy responded, "Uzumaki-san has been admitted in the hospital. He was found beat in an alley between the orphanage in the northern district and the convenient store to the right of it."

"What?" the blonde cried, shocked. The boy waited for her to calm down before ushering her after him. Hurrying after him on her much shorter legs, the girl demanded, "Who hurt Naruto?"

"We do not know, but one of the officers at the scene heard the woman that runs the orphanage say something about how they should have killed him, so she is a definite suspect. I do not know if there are others," the dark eyed boy explained, slowing down slightly to make it easier for her to keep up.

"If she did it, she hired someone to do her dirty work!" the green eyed girl snarled, looking angrier by the second.

"If she did it, she will likely regret it. Do not worry yourself over it, as she will be caught, if she is at fault."

x~x~x

Caitlin glanced at the Uchiha brothers out of the corner of her eye. They sat with her in the waiting room, even though they had almost no connections to Naruto. Sasuke had been dropped off by his father, who was now assisting with investigation.

."Has this happened before?" the girl asked, her voice a murmur in the quiet waiting room.

"I do not know." the older brother answered.

A man with dark hair and dark eyes walked into the room, his eyes landing on the trio immediately. "Hey, Itachi. Genma told me he saw you walk in here with the Uzumaki boy in your arms. How is he?"

Sasuke's brother just gave a tiny shake of his head, and the other Uchiha nodded. "Yeah, I doubted it was good. Sheesh, to do that to a kid…"

The now quartet waited for another hour before a medic ninja came out to greet them. "He's stable now, thank goodness. Do any of you know what happened?"

"He was assaulted in the alley next to the orphanage," Sasuke's brother answered, stoically watching the woman as she stared at him.

 _Fangirls disgust me…_ Watching the woman blatantly start to flutter her eyelashes at the boy, Caitlin rolled her eyes, hearing the sound of the other Uchiha snickering quietly beside her. _He's just a kid and she's like a grown woman. Perv._

"The paperwork?" the teenager asked, ignoring the woman's stares.

"Oh! Um, here it is!" the woman scrambled her clip board around as she searched for the papers. "It's only basic information, such as the patient's name, birthdate, and guardians," she explained as she gave it to Itachi, who silently handed it over to Caitlin, knowing that it was likely for her to know some of the information.

Quickly filling it out and wrinkling her nose in disgust at the horrific pink ink of the pen handed to her, she handed it back to the nurse, who glance over it quickly, and then said, "Naruto-kun will be out so- Wait, Uzumaki Naruto is who I treated!" she finished with a screech, causing several others in the waiting room to stare at the woman and then them.

The woman grabbed the papers that she had dropped in her dismay and with a quick glance over her shoulder, raced out of the room.

Staring after her, Caitlin blinked as a hand was suddenly thrust into her face. "Kami-sama, I hate people like that. I'm Uchiha Shisui, by the way." He grinned sheepishly. "I didn't really get a chance to introduce myself. Beside me is Itachi and Sasuke. I imagine you know Sasuke, since you look like you're Academy age."

"Yeah, I've seen him around," Caitlin murmured with a shrug of her shoulders as she twisted her hands in her lap.

"Sheesh, what is it with you quiet people?" Shisui complained. "You just need to let loose!"

Itachi's face twitched, like he was trying not to roll his eyes. Sasuke giggled, causing Shisui to pout. "No one agrees with me!"

Just as he said this, a yellow blur raced through the waiting room, causing screams of shock as it went.

"Get back here!" shouted a nurse. "You're gonna pull your stitches!"

The yellow blur paused, revealing itself to be Naruto as he grinned straight at Caitlin. "Hi Lin-chan! Oops, gotta go!" And with a laugh, he was off again.

"Now, who does that remind you of?" Shisui asked, chuckling.

Sasuke and Caitlin gave him blank looks while Itachi finally gave into the urge to roll his eyes. "Hn."

"What, that's all you can say?" asked the exuberant Uchiha. "'Hn,'" he imitated. Both of the Academy students started snickering as Shisui continued to imitate and annoy Itachi, who just glared at his cousin.

x~x~x

"So, you managed to evade all of the hospital officials?" the blonde girl asked as she walked into the classroom the next day.

"Yep! I had to stay up all night to do it, but I did it," Naruto replied, grinning as Caitlin sat beside him.

"You are such an idiot sometimes. How are your stitches? And your arm?" the girl inquired worriedly.

"They're perfectly fine! I wouldn't have even believed anything had happened if you hadn't said it had," Naruto answered as Iruka entered the room. Caitlin concentrated on the lesson after that while Naruto goofed around. Caitlin could always lecture him on whatever the lesson was about later if it was important.

Soon, lunch break came around and after eating for fifteen minutes, they still had forty-five left. The green eyed girl quickly decided that it was time to help Naruto make some friends. He had been hesitant and afraid of rejection when Caitlin had mentioned reaching out to other students a week after she had met him, but he said he was ready to try it now.

With her targets being Hinata and Shino, she went over to the two and tapped the shy girl on the shoulder. "Is it alright if Naruto and I join in on your game of tag?"

Hinata's eyes widened and glancing over at Shino who seemed to have no objection, nodded. Mission accomplished, Caitlin grinned widely.

"Awesome sauce!"

x~x~x

Nervously, Caitlin handed the slip of paper that requested she be granted the right to have her own apartment to the woman behind the desk, fidgeting as she read it over. And then, she simply stamped it with approval and handed it back to her after making another copy of it.

"T-thank you," the girl stuttered as she stumbled away from the desk, almost scared that the lady would take it back from her.

Quickly walking towards the orphanage, the blonde clutched the paper to her chest. When she finally got to the door of the place where she had lived at for as long as she could remember, she realized that she had almost crumpled the slip to the point where it was beyond repair. She smoothed it out and then opened the door.

She went to her room, and opted to pack first instead of giving the paper to Yuki. She didn't want to answer Yuki's questions as to why she was leaving yet, but knew that she would have to answer them soon.

Packing done, she found Yuki, gave her the slip, and walked away from the place that she had lived at for so very long without saying a word to the woman.

x~x~x

Punching the training dummy, Caitlin frowned. Her taijutsu was horrible, and it didn't appear to be improving, and she had absolutely no idea why.

"Your stance is off."

Caitlin spun around, startled to see one of the Uchiha, the one that had smiled and tried to cheer her up when Naruto was in the hospital. "Shisui-san?"

He grinned and rubbed the back of his head. "I don't really like 'san'. It makes me feel old."

"Sorry."

The Uchiha cheerfully sat down on the ground beside where she was standing. "Have you thought about your specialization yet? Because no offence, but I don't think taijutsu's gonna be it."

She shrugged. "I want to study fuuinjutsu-"

He whistled. "Not what I'd recommend. Fuuinjutsu masters are few and far between, but hey, if you think you can do it, then try. Maybe you will be like, the next Yellow Flash."

Caitlin suddenly remembered the scene in the hospital room, and frowned. Naruto looked like…

She shook the thoughts out of her head as she paused in her training to take a drink of water from her bottle. _Naruto looked like Namikaze Minato…_

 **Question: If you could have any weapon, what would it be?**

 **My answer: A scythe or chakrams.**


End file.
